Date Published: 11/14/10

Ondo hails OSUSTECH licence release

The Ondo State government has commended the National Universities Commission NUC for releasing the certificate of operation of the Ondo State University of Science and Technology, OSUSTECH, Okitipupa. The Government says the NUC has done the right thing and put to shame those who would rather that the university remain a white elephant and so unrealisable project.

The Commissioner for Information, Ranti Akerele, in a statement yesterday, said NUC’s action reinforces the position of the State that it has never let the greater goal of building a Science and Technology University that will be worthy in name and character and content out of sight, even when there were attempts to politicise the institution.

“We have said it over and over again. We had to make the right reworking of the far from feasible pit of sleaze initiated by the Agagu regime in OSUSTECH. There was no way we could continue with over bloated contractual agreements, far from realistic dreams of fully developing the university before the commencement of academic work and still be able to invite quality human resources, without letting something give way to the other, hence the steady and determined approach that was mischievously interpreted as an attempt to kill the institution,” Akerele said.

Akerele said the Ondo State Government was therefore not surprised by NUC’s action as it has done all that is necessary for the true take-off of the University. “Not only have we made new arrangements to continue with massive but economically reasonable construction work in the university’s permanent site, we have also identified and commenced concerted renovation work at the temporary site in Idepe, Okitipupa,” Akerele said.

On the steps taken by the government thus far, Akerele said: “Having inaugurated a Governing Council of men and women of repute; appointed a Vice Chancellor with an intimidating track record and decided on taking-off from a temporary site in a location proximal to the temporary site, we hope to, with the timely release of the certificate of operation, put all human and material resources in place for the intake of students into the university early in the new year.

“We can only hope that those arguing from the point of ignorance or mischief that the Government harboured any intent to subvert the take-off of the institution will be sober, if not humble, enough to see that it is better to plan and act right to avoid the certain failure designed by the disgraced Agagu government.”

It will be recalled that the licence of operation of the university was withdrawn some months ago, leading to accusations of subversion by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP, in Ondo State. The PDP had alleged that the Mimiko government deliberately worked towards the withdrawal of the licence, an allegation the Mimiko’s Labour Party government has vehemently denied.

The Mimiko government has consistently said the university as conceived and executed by the ousted Agagu government was a cesspool of fraud and misappropriation. Akerele said “most of the contracts were inflated beyond reason, and contractors, who were mostly PDP apparatchiks, paid to the tune of 50% or more of the over bloated contract sum, have not done construction work anywhere near performance levels commensurate with the paid sums hence the effort to review and re-strategise to plug identified areas of waste.”